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need help.. newborn-9 days old.. i'm feeling helpless

my daughter is 9 days old. she has done great latching on. but she vomits every once in awhile. it makes me worry that i'm making her sick. today she ate for about 1 min every 30 mins for about a 2 hour stretch. then after 2 straight hours of sleep she ate for 3-5 mins but was fussy. she had a bowel movement, then hiccups, and finally projectile vomited all she ate across the kitchen.. i'm having such a hard time every night she goes through this 2_3 hour phase where nothing i do makes her happy. i need help.. i feel like if i give up on breast feeding.. that i will be depressed over the guilt of failing.. i feel like everything i'm doing is wrong.. i can get through the pain of my nipples hurting.. but i don't know if everything else is right. is it ok that she eats for 1 or 3 mins sometimes? i try to pump once a day, usually in the morning to help with milk overflow.. she was choking on it when i would let down.. or just cough while she's eating.. she wakes up after 3 hours and screams like i am starving her. then some days she sleeps so much i worry there is something wrong..

Re: need help.. newborn-9 days old.. i'm feeling helpless

Wait, did you say a 2-3 hour stretch at night? Also know as the witching hour. That stretch of time before a long sleep where every baby in the world gangs up on all parents to drive us crazy. Chances are, it's that. But keep an eye on weight gain, what the vomit looks and smells like - is it terribly acidic or yellow? Does baby seem to be in pain or extremely uncomfortable, not just fussy? Those might be an indication of a problem. Are poops yellow and seedy? That's what you want them to look like. Not mucousy, green or streaked with blood. Otherwise babies spit up. And cry for seemingly no reason. And have gas and hiccups and burp. The world a new thing and their bodies are trying to figure this all out.

Re: need help.. newborn-9 days old.. i'm feeling helpless

I see you just added some to your first post. Coughing while nursing sounds like overactive letdown and or oversupply. Which would also cause spitting up, gas and discomfort. Why are you pumping? That would make an oversupply worse.

Re: need help.. newborn-9 days old.. i'm feeling helpless

Mama, please don't panic!

If the "vomiting" you describe is only occasional, the baby doesn't seem to be in pain when spitting, and baby is gaining weight at a normal pace and is producing the right amounts of wet and poopy diapers, then it's probably normal spit-up. Babies don't spit up because they are sick: they do it because the muscle sphincters that hold their stomach contents down where they belong are still newborn-weak. Spit-up is usually a laundry problem, not a health problem, and it will go away in time as baby's muscle tone improves. Also, spit-up amounts often look larger than they are. If you take a couple of oz of cow's milk and dump it out on the counter, it will look like a lot more than it actually is. It's the same with spit-up.

If, however, the vomiting is generally projectile and baby is failing to gain weight, make appropriate diaper output, or is becoming dehydrated, then call your doctor. I really don't want to scare you, but vomiting that is literally projectile- not just forceful but projectile, flying across the room- can indicate a condition called pyloric stenosis. I wouldn't even mention it except that you said "projectile".

Frequent feeding is normal, and fussy periods in the evening are very normal. The best thing you can do is to just nurse, nurse, nurse, and then nurse some more. The crankiness is very frustrating and upsetting, but it's just par for the course with a lot of babies.

I am with the PP that you don't want to be pumping right now. It's a great way to end up with oversupply or to worsen oversupply if it's already a problem for you. If your baby's poops are generally yellow and somewhere between the texture of watery yogurt or watery cottage cheese, then she's getting plenty to eat and you don't need to worry.

Re: need help.. newborn-9 days old.. i'm feeling helpless

It does sound like over active let down/oversupply issues. I have always had issues with this, it gets better as the baby gets older. Now, at 3 months, DD3 is still spitting up a lot, but its been a while since she's had a HUGE spit up- the kind where we both have to change and bathe completely.

As for quick feedings- yes 1 or 3 minutes or whatever can be normal, especially with oversupply or over active let down issues. My babies have all nursed very little at a time. Just feed her when she cues and watch her diapers- good number of wet and poopy and if she's growing. Sometimes, I wonder how my kids grew they seemed to eat so little at a time. But they get a lot at once.

The "vomit" style of spitting up can just be that they got too much at once and it came back up.

As for the 2-3 hour phase where nothing you do makes her happy, that seems fairly normal too, just do your best. I find that putting my babies in a wrap or good carrier to be what they need (put them in, keep moving, and sometimes, like with this baby, she likes to also listen to loud music with a good beat at the same time...I know, strange, but it helps so much. She still screams for about 10 minutes and then calms right down. Sometimes outside helps too. Over time, you will get to know her more, and figure out what helps her. Just do your best.

Nipples hurting- I've had this with each baby no matter what I do. Hang in there! It does get better.

Seriously it all gets better around 6-8 weeks for sure. Often before that. I take it in 2 week increments. You're almost at 2 weeks. You've come far. 2 more weeks, that much further. It does seem long in the moment, but short looking back. The days drag but the years fly by. It sounds like you are doing a great job since you care about your baby so much.

Its also normal for babies to eat a lot one day, sleep a lot the next...sometimes I go check on my baby (even after 3 kids now) thinking something must be wrong since they are sleeping for hours! They do this as they grow. Eat more, then sleep more, or vice versa.

Re: need help.. newborn-9 days old.. i'm feeling helpless

I've never pumped to deal with the oversupply/overactive let down issues. I've never pumped at all. I have hand expressed a tiny amount at a time though. I was told to lean back while feeding. Lying down also seemed to help. With a towel under her head for the spit up.

Re: need help.. newborn-9 days old.. i'm feeling helpless

with all the PPs. You can also try nursing in a reclined position to help slow the flow for your baby. I would lean back on a few pillows, put my baby on my chest or stomach, and let him latch. It took a lot of tweaking, but it saved us once we got it right.

Pumping just tells your body to make more milk than what is actually needed. The pump did me no favors when I had problems with oversupply.